Process of breaking laminated articles



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,p .VI

w. J; JOYCE PROCESS OF BREAKING -LAMINTED ARTICLES Filed May 10, 1941 D'ec. 12, 1944.

MLA

v INVAENTOR.v WILLIAM J.JOYCE RNEY.

W. JOYCE PROCESS 0F BREAKING LAMINATED ARTICLES Dec. 12? 1944.

Filed May 10, 194l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM J. JOYCE .BY

z/wvf- W R A ORNEY Dec. 12, 1944. w, JOYCE 2,365,085

PROCESS OF BREAKING LAMINATED ARTICLES Filed May l0, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR WILLIAM J. JOYCE Patented Dec. l2, 1944 QFFICE raocass or BREAKING LAMINATED narrows William d. `oyce, Southbridge, Mass., 'assignor to American ptical Company, Southbridge,

Mass., a voluntary association of Massachusetts application 'May it, i941, sensi No. 392,92?

` s cama. (ci. asi- 7n This invention pertains to an article of laminated material and a method of producing same by providing more positive definition on the edge of the laminated article by restricting the intermediate layer about the peripheral edge of the article from being disrupted by disturbing the bond between the individual plates of lamina and the'intermediate'layer. The disruption of the bond about the peripheral edge, which is frequently referred to as fringing, presents many problems which frequently required extra processing and additional steps in presenting the article in its ultimate form.

Heretofore, the ordinary Amethod of breaking laminated glass was to cut the glass with the conventional cutter ,such as a diamond' or other hard cutting edge and then bending the glass shaping the glass components'is existent in commercial practice for practically all laminated glass whether it is in the ophthalmic optical art or for other purposes such as windshields, windows, various type lenses in the general field of optics and for' othernpurposes. The previous so that the weakest portion of the glass would be alongthe cut edge or outlined contour. The bending operation would cause the weaker portion to give way and the glass would break along the contour edge or scoring outline. The intermediate layer would then have to be cut with a sharp instrument. No provision has been made heretofore for employing a special operation or process concerning the break of the center lamination or intermediate layer. Con'- sequently, depending on the particular characteristics orproperties of theI intermediate layer, the lack of special treatmentor consideration thereof resulted in fringing of the intermediate' layer while the outer layers of glass usually had the commercially acceptable outer contour edge due to the scoring definition resulting from the cutting tool operation.I The bonds between the intermediate layer and the glass components wer usually weakened. y

Theffringing of the intermediate layer due'to the breaking operation becomes a serious problem when working with ophthalmic optics or glass used generally for optical purposes, particularly when the usable area of the glass is not large and the fringing due to the breaking op eration causes image distortion.

Safety lenses for 'eye protection may employ a non-shatterable glass having an intermediate of a material such as polyvinyl acetal. The` bonding operation fixes the componentsl in a definite position so that the lresultant iens'is a methods all required a blanklng operation for the glass components prior to bonding.

Heretofore', the lack of -a suitable method of breaking the glass required either that laminated glass be bought having the desired dimensions, or else the unused portion of the glass was usually destroyed by the crumbing" method which causes destruction of the bonding about the periphery. frequently necessitating grinding of the peripheral edge, depending on many factors.

In the field of ophthalmic .optics lenses for safety goggles ordinarily require factory cutting and the average man in the field has no means for providing lenses for safety goggles unless the lenses are precut to the desired shape and dimensions.

The present method vwill permit safety lenses to be provided inblank form the same as regular single layer lenses. The resultant cut safety lens will have no destruction ofa the bond around the peripheral edge of the intermediate layer thereby eliminating fringing which would ordinarilycause distorted vision. The present invention will also permit the use of large plates of safety glass to be carried in stock by jobbers and be used as needed withoutmaterial destruction of the remainder of the laminated-sheet. l

The laminated glass is cut on the surface, or on two surfaces as'the case may require, in the usual manner such as by a diamond cutter. The cuts are usually opposite each other when the two surface cut is used.' The laminated glass is laminated safety glass. This method of p're- 55 then chilled or frozen by subjecting same to a cooling operation in aeriform fluid, or liquid refrigerant depending onthe character/iSticsof the material to be cut. Thev temperature of the pooling chamber is such that the laminated glass to be cooled is reduced in temperature so that the intermediate-layer approaches a brittleness, -or definitely becomes brittle due to the reduction in temperature of the intermediate layer.

After the laminated glass is removed from the chamber, the bending operation follows so that the laminated glass breaks causing a breaking of the intermediate layer due to its brittleness, ix contradistinction to the strain and tear metho In theevent that it is desirous to make rectangular or square shaped plates,l such as is used in cover plates for welding helmets, windshields, or windows, which are such that they provide a straight line edge, or a curved edge of an arc large enoughto permit use of a grinding wheel, a nearly through or through cut in the outer glass layers may be used advantageously In this case there is no necessity for the edging" operation now commercially used by the current conventional method of breaking laminated glass.

However, when it is desirable and possible to obtain a uniform contact in the assembled device,.throughout the adjacent peripheral edgeA of the laminated material, the V-bottom cut may be used, thus eliminating the necessity of the edging operation which has heretofore been used subsequent to the cutting operation on this class of work.

It should be obvious to one skilled in the art that such edging is not required in every laminated piece of glass that is cut, but where edging was formerly used it may now be eliminated in certain classes of work, by combining the cutting and the equivalent of edging by a single operation f the bottom cut or bottom 8rind.`

Up to this point, in the specification, the reference has generally been Ato the end of obtaining single articles, that is the making of one article at a time. This has been done for simplicity to deilne the article and the method of producing same. In production, it may be'necessary to make a plurality of the articles by a simplified method, such as cutting many of the articles in a single operation. Further, the lot of articles, after they were a single thickperature sufficiently low so that the intermediate layer will not draw outfrom between the internal glass surfaces when the bending and breaking process takes P19-Ceshaping and cutting, may be obtained in final form by a single operation, such as by punching. The application so lfar has indicated that the i article is subjected to a refrigerant, vand in a separate step it has been broken from the remaining strip or plateof laminated material. For production, the laminated plate stock may be placed in a refrigerated punch press or punching machine after it has been scored or cut, and without removing same from the refrigerated punch press the ultimate article may be punched from the strip or laminated plate stock while still in the refrigerated punch rpress. Clamping means may be provided to hold the stock in place on the punch press, and cutting means may also be used for scoring or bottom cutting the individual lamina while it remains in the punch press.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improvement in themethod of breaking laminated material by subjecting the material to be broken to refrigeration prior to the breaking.

I loperation.

' terial to become sumciently hard so that it will break when the glass components of the laminated material breaks.

A further object o f the invention is to score the surfaces of a laminated material and subsequently subject the scored area of the laminated material to the cooling action of a refrigerant so that the breaking process will cause the break to run through the mmm so that the three components of the laminated piece are broken in unison' It is a further object of the invention to Dro- -vide a. method of breaking laminated glass by in'- itially scoring said laminated glass on both sides thereof and centrally and/or axially aligning same to provide substantially an opposltely scored portion having the second scoring being substantially opposite the first scoring through the scoring outline.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a plurality of laminated articles and method of producing same by scoring a multiplicity of the articles by a single operation, said scoring being in the ultimate or substantially ultimate form and size for use, depending upon whether or not the scoring per se is of a general surface type or whether the bottom or substantially bottom cut is used.

A further object of the invention is to provide a punch press device for punching out a multiplicity of articles by a single operation.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide means for cooling or refrlgerating the punch press so that the articles may be punched out by a single operation without removing the laminated stock from the punch press.

departing from the spirit of the invention as set Y forth in the subjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a laminated material to be broken as outlined.

v Fig. 2 is a section of the laminated material taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig; 3 shows a cutting tool in position for scoring the surface of the article such as displayed in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a means of scoring the surface of a definitely shaped object, such as a lens.

Fig. 5 is an aeriform cooling chamber using a liquid cooling medium for cooling the interior of the chamber.

Fig. 6 is a liquid cooling chamber for immersins the laminated 'articlein a liquid refrigerant.

Fig."1 is a plan view of a laminated plate with i individually cut outlines of laminated articles.

Fig. 8 shows a punch press for punching out the individually prescored articles while a lamiF nated plate is under the effect of refrigeration.

Fig. 9 is a punchv press having the diameter of the die plate materiallygreater than the diameter of the punch, in conJunction with the feature of resiliently locking the clamp plate in relation to the die plate.

Fig. 10`is a plan view of laminatedvplate stock with the cut outlined by means for producing a cut substantially through the outer plates.

Fig. 11 is a punch press having refrigerated die plate and cover plate members, with a portion of laminated stock inserted 'therein prior to the actual punching operation.

Fig. l2 shows a grinding wheel in relation to a as shown in Fig. 1.

completed cut substantially' through the outer plates in a piece of laminatedmaterial.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1, a laminated glass plate 1 having a dotted circle and a dotted straight line thereon represents scoring lines,"which scoring is ordinarily done with the conventional type glass cutter in a well-known manner. The circle outline may be taken as representative of the shape of a round lens such as used in a safety goggle. Fig. 2 shows the laminated plate having outer glass sheets 8 and 9, with an intermediate layer l0, which intermediate layer is the bonding material of any well-known type, a concrete exam- -ple being polyvinyl acetal.

holds it in fixed position with the turntable I3 so that` the turntable and lens 3l, pivotallyrnounted on. the base support I2 may be rotated. An upper head I4 has an upright portion I5 with journals I6 carried thereon. A tool holder 33 is supported Below the plate, a cutting` tool II', similar to cutting tool II,l is in position A work holder and rubber` mat marking for aligning the lens centrally and axially is well-known in the art.4

'I'his present invention contemplates utilization of this system with the addition of revolving the camy pattern or former so that the method may be completed.

A cooling chamber I9 has a closure or door 20 which may be removed for the purpose ofy inserting the scored laminated plate 'l therewithin'. The cooling chamber I9 may be of any conventional type but is presented as having a plurality of pipes 2| disposed throughout, which cooling pipes having liquid refrigerant therein to reduce the temperature of the aeriform iiuid which may -be air or gas, depending on the particular results indicating that the closures may be swung out by the journals I6 and has a can'rfollower 'I8 on the upper portion thereof and a` tool I I located on the lower portion thereof. The tool may have a hard cutting surface such as a diamond on the extreme lower tip for engaging the surface of the l closed in the patent issued to A. E. Maynard, Patent Number 1,683,295.l The disclosure. in Fig. 3

is simply representative of cutting both` sides of the laminated stock and nonew method is intended therein.

` Heretofore; it has only been the glass, such as a lens, on one side thereof. With laminated glass such as in a safety lens, it

now becomes necessary to score said laminated glass or lens on both sides thereof. For aligning a lens and centering same so that the lens o f the way when access is desired tothe liquid cooling chamber.

The liquid 28 in the liquid cooling chamberV may be ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, acetate, kerosene, or other liquid media. Solid carbon dioxide 29 is shown as being placed below the removable grill 23.` v 'Fig 'l' shows a laminated plate stock 35 which has a multiplicity of scored articles 36. The plate i die plate. The laminated stock 35 is shown with necessary to score Willproperly be centered with the vcam pattern or former, amarking such as an ink marking is placed on the lens to indicate usually the major axis, and the optical center of the lens. With they safetygoggle it is necessary to score both sides thereof, and in this case the lens is centered over the point of the center aligning'pinto obtain `the optical center in alignmentV with the center of the cam pattern or forme'r. The axis of the lens has an ink marking aligned with a correits scorings 4I "so aligned that the punch 40 in each case, will force the article 36 through the opening 39. saidvopening 39 being larger than the article 36.

An' enlarged section of the punch press shown inFig. 8 is presented in Fig. 9 wherein likecharacter references represent like Aparts in other `views of the present disclosure. In the enlarged end of the stud'43 extends through an opening inthe clamping plate 42 while a nut 45is threadedly. connected to the portion 44 of the stud 43. A small lever 46 or other suitable means is shown secured to the nut 45 for the purpose of giving leverage, while the spring 41 provides a resilient I corpression means for holding the clamping plate 42 flrmlyagainst `the laminated stockI 35.

A sheet of laminated plate stock ,48 is shown in' I Fig. 10 having cuts 49 which extend substantially through the outer plates and which provide dimensions and contour for preshaped articles of laminated plate stock such as rectangular shaped safetyglass which may be used in the cover plates of welding helmets, windows, andthe like.

, laminated layer.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of'a laminated stock Il shown in Fig. 10, with a cuttingtool such as a grinding wheel 50 is securely fastened on a revolvable shaft which cutting wheel is aillxed to said shaft in any convenient method such as by a screw 52. The showing in Fig. l1 is merely representative of a cutting tool of the grinding wheel type, butany convenient method can be used for providing the bottom cut or ksubstantially bottom cut, for producing the desired results. The enlarged view in Fi 12 shows a refrigerated die plate 53 and a c amping plate 55 having refrigerating tubes or pipes 54 located therein.

The laminated plate stock, if scored with a tool such as a diamond cutter, will have a crack below the surface of the depth of the actual cutting, said crack 4I being shown by a ragged line in Fig. 9. The depth of the crack is variable, frequently depending on the pressure of the cutting tool, and the crack will have depths varying to the possible to punch out the individual articles, since the refrigerated laminated plate stock has now become brittle due to the lowering of temperature of the intermediate layer. Where the bottom cut is used, the punching operation simply involves the breaking through of the intermediate layer without any material disturbance of the bond between the individual lamina components.

The material of which the punch; clamping plate, and die plate, are made, has not specifically been stated heretofore, but regards the material of the punches 40, the clamping plate 42 and the `die plate 38, these particular members may be ,made oi' various forms of rubber, plastic, or

fibrous material. The particular hardness vof the material used would be somewhat dependent upon the size and thickness of the laminated article. While the parts may be madev of metal ifdesirable, it is pointed out that these parts may be surfaced with a suitable material to 'prevent scratching or marring of the article to be manufactured.

While specific means have been shown for obtaining the scoring and/or cutting of the laminated stock, and specific means have also been shown for clamping and reirigerating the die press, it is to be understood that any conventional means or combination of conventional means may be used individually or in combination with the present disclosure to obtain the desiratum in attaining the results accomplishable by the present disclosure.

Actual use of the present process has been carried out using various refrigerants or liquid cooling means such as ethyl alcohol-and kerosene indicated that the brittleness of the intermediate layer such as polyvinyl acetal, was sufficient to give an adequate break through the intermediate layer without any appreciable destruction of the bond between the glass lamina about the edges thereof. Fraying of the intermediate layer was eliminated. When the work was done on safety glass such as used for goggles the break resulted in no distorted vision when the glass was used for optical purposes. Certain specific cooling or chilling means have been set forth as being suitable Because of this condition, it is terial has been likewise set forth as being suitable, but it is to be understood that these expressions are in no way limitations and are only by way of example to indicate at least one actual example that has been found suitable and successful for at least one particular problem presented. Conventional methods of cooling may be used where practicable.

A specific instance of employing the cooling medium has been presented in the present application but the art of refrigeration is sufficiently developed so that one skilled in the art would -be able to provide suitable refrigerating means such as disclosed in Fig. 5, and as also disclosed in Fig.- 12.

The word breaking is used to designate the complete severance of a laminated piece of stock so that one piece of laminated stock may be reduced to two or more pieces of laminated parts. Cutting, more specifically refers to the scoring operation, while breaking more specifically refers to the bending action or other action which may be found suitable to disrupt the intermediate layer between the external lamina components of a laminated sheet or plate. While scoring has been referred to as being a cutting action by a cutting tool, an actual cut may be made substantially through the glass to the intermediate layer. This may be produced by any suitable tool which may be a grinding wheel or other means. When the method of substantially cutting through the outer plates of the laminated stock is used, the breaking operation causes the intermediate layer Ato be broken cleanly without fringing or disruption of the bond about the peripheral edge of the laminated stock andwithout requiring any further edging of the article since the glass lamina is already definitely severed.

In commercial practice, the method and means 4 employed may involve changes from the specific disclosure set forth herein and minor changes may readily suggest themselves. The right to make certain minor departures from the specifications and drawings is retained and equivalent parts may be used within the spirit of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A methcd of simultaneously making a plurality of articles of laminated plate stock having an intermediate layer of bonding material between the lamina components of the laminated plate stock comprising the step of cutting the surfaces of the laminated plate stock into a multiplicity ofindividually scored outlines, a further step of subjecting the individually scored outlines to theaction of a cooling medium to lower the temperature of the intermediate layer, and a still further step of simultaneously pressing the individually scored articles out of said plate stock while said plate stock is held in a substantially Y fixed position.

. 2. The method of simultaneously' making a plurality of substantially similarly shaped articles out of a single piece of laminated plate stock hav- Aingan intermediate layer,- comprising the step of cutting outlines on opposing surfaces of the plate 'stock so that a multiplicity of cut closed areas refrigerants, and certain intermediate layer ma- ,results from the cutting to form a multiplicity of preshaped article outlines, subjecting the plate stock to a refrigerant to lower the temperature of the intermediate layer of the plate stock, and

simultaneously forcing the pre-outlined articles from the plate stock while said plate stock is held in a substantially-xed position.

, WILLIAM J. JOYCE. 

